Chapter 37: The Price of Provocation

When Ye Cha spoke silently, his movements were not swift; he deliberately ensured Zi Linglong saw everything with perfect clarity.

This precision only served to infuriate Zi Linglong to the point of fuming, making her wish she could seize Ye Cha immediately and torment him relentlessly. Only then could she truly quell the hatred in her heart.

From that day forward, Zi Linglong harbored a special disdain for Ye Cha, in addition to her general aversion to men.

Ye Cha, however, felt no particular remorse. Under normal circumstances, he would never have spoken to a woman in such a manner, always striving to maintain his impeccable image.

But this was different.

From the moment Zi Linglong had appeared, the palpable disgust on her face was not a calculated tactic; it was a genuine, visceral hatred for men.

Coupled with her identity as a ghost cultivator, Ye Cha felt no need to uphold his facade. Though he couldn’t inflict any real harm on Zi Linglong, managing to provoke her before her departure felt like a worthy retribution for the injury to his left hand.

Indeed, seeing Zi Linglong’s eyes widen with fury, even through her veil, her frustrated expression was clear. Paired with her petite and delicate frame, it made her surprisingly endearing rather than repulsive.

Ye Cha thoroughly enjoyed witnessing Zi Linglong’s discomfiture and even contemplated repeating the performance.

“Ye Cha, I will remember you!”

Just as the purple mist ascended, Zi Linglong’s voice rang out once more, imbued with intense indignation, before the violet smoke rapidly dissipated.

****

Simultaneously, a powerful gust of wind scattered the purple mist that had ensnared Shen Ruotong.

Shen Ruotong, whose form was now revealed, remained utterly unchanged; not even a single strand of hair was out of place. Yet, her dark eyes were filled with a grave intensity, deepening considerably when she noticed the blood dripping steadily from Ye Cha’s left hand.

Though trapped within the purple mist moments before, Shen Ruotong had witnessed everything that transpired outside.

Seeing Ye Cha injured by Zi Linglong’s corpse puppet right before her eyes ignited an ineffable emotion within Shen Ruotong, leaving her in a profoundly ill humor.

She had battled Zi Linglong for centuries, always an even match. She had never anticipated that her opponent had laid such a deep-seated trap.

If not for this premature detonation, and if Shen Ruotong had continued her cultivation, a weakness would have been forcibly created where none existed.

Reflecting on this, Shen Ruotong’s mood quickly calmed. She decided not to continue watching the competition, instead preparing to thoroughly examine her own body for any other lingering ‘seeds’.

“Forgive Lingtian Sect’s lack of hospitality. Once the internal sect competition concludes, you are to return immediately!”

With that, Shen Ruotong took a storage pouch from Zhou Lingling. She no longer entertained the disciples of Feiyun Sect as guests, issuing an outright eviction notice.

For reasons she couldn’t quite articulate, the thought of Ye Cha being injured to save Zhou Lingling felt like a thorn lodged in Shen Ruotong’s heart, making her unwilling to see Zhou Lingling in Lingyun Sect any longer.

Before departing, Shen Ruotong cast another glance at Ye Cha. Despite the myriad thoughts swirling in her mind, she couldn’t resist speaking to him. “Ye Cha, come with me.”

Ye Cha’s expression froze at Shen Ruotong’s words. Once he processed them, he said nothing more, simply following silently behind Shen Ruotong as she led him away from the internal sect competition grounds.

They left behind a group of people wide-eyed with shock, utterly dumbfounded by the sheer number of unexpected events that had occurred during this small competition!

“Who exactly was that Zi Linglong? To think she could even trap our Sect Master!”

“Heavens, you don’t even know Zi Linglong? Where did you crawl out from? Is there truly anyone in the entire cultivation world who hasn’t heard of Zi Linglong?”

“I know, I know! Zi Linglong was originally a disciple of a second-rate orthodox sect, but due to certain events, she switched to cultivating the ghost path midway… She was originally unknown, but after cultivating the ghost path, her strength advanced by leaps and bounds. However, aside from her formidable power, Zi Linglong is infamous for her cruel methods, especially towards male cultivators, whom she treats with merciless brutality.”

“A mere ghost cultivator, how strong could she possibly be? She must have used insidious tricks to harm the Sect Master!”

“Sister, you’re mistaken in thinking that. Zi Linglong being able to contend equally with our Sect Master proves her strength is definitely not below the Integration Stage; perhaps she has even reached the Void Refinement Stage now.”

“The path of ghost cultivation is truly so formidable? To become so powerful after starting halfway through!”

After Shen Ruotong departed with Ye Cha, people’s attention shifted away from the arena matches. They gathered in groups, discussing the recent occurrences.

Among all the names, Zi Linglong’s was mentioned with the highest frequency.

Especially upon hearing that Zi Linglong had switched to ghost cultivation midway, transforming from an obscure cultivator into someone renowned alongside a genius like the Sect Master, a fervent excitement ignited in some. They began to ponder whether they, too, should explore unorthodox paths.

Otherwise, with their ordinary spiritual root aptitudes and without any augmenting spirit bodies, climbing the cultivation ranks presented myriad insurmountable obstacles. It was simply too arduous.

Zi Linglong possessed ordinary spiritual roots and no special spirit body, yet she had now made a name for herself in the cultivation world.

Though it was a fearsome reputation.

Nevertheless, even a fearsome reputation was a testament to immense power.

“Do you truly believe the path of ghost cultivation is so easy to traverse? Compared to the steady progress of orthodox cultivation techniques and the unconventional methods of demonic paths, the cultivation methods of ghost cultivators are unique. One misstep, and you could become neither human nor ghost, beyond redemption… Furthermore, for Zi Linglong to possess such power in the ghost cultivation path, she is definitely no ordinary person; she must have had a fortuitous encounter unknown to others!”

Zhou Lingling watched Ye Cha leave, and after his figure vanished from sight, she felt an unbearable pang of heartache. Conveniently, someone nearby was discussing Zi Linglong. To distract herself and alleviate her suffering, Zhou Lingling immediately interjected a few words.

Zi Linglong had been famous for a long time, and under her fearsome reputation, Zhou Lingling had certainly heard of her.

Moreover, her elders at home had often discussed her, so Zhou Lingling was privy to some insider information.

Initially, because Zhou Lingling and Zi Linglong shared a character in their names, Zhou Lingling had been very curious and inquired about Zi Linglong. This curiosity nearly gave her family a fright, as they feared Zhou Lingling might, out of curiosity for Zi Linglong, turn to cultivating the ghost path.

They had then meticulously and painstakingly explained, piece by piece, how arduous the ghost cultivation path was, and how nine times out of ten, it would lead to a tragic end.

Occasionally, a ghost cultivator succeeded in ascending, but only due to a unique fortuitous encounter.

Clearly, Zi Linglong was one such case.

Therefore, one should not blindly follow suit just because of Zi Linglong’s success… Otherwise, they might not even know how they died, which would be truly tragic.